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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Pasta with Sautéed Broccoli & Garlic

Pasta with sautéed broccoli & garlic I hands down one of my favorite things to eat. I eat it at home & order it at restaurants. It's my go to comfort food. We probably eat it about 4 times a month, so much so that I cannot believe that I haven't posted my perfected recipe yet.

After making this dish a bunch of times I've found a way to use less oil than I originally thought that this needed to have to be considered tasty and to not brown the garlic but to add it at the end of cooking instead. I add just enough cheese that melts in & seems to disappear so that sister-in-laws who hate cheese have no idea what's really in there (teee heee) but they don't care because it tastes that good.

No worries, the day has come, I'm going to share all those secret tips with you. Get my fool proof recipe after the jump.

Ingredients

3 cloves - 1 head of garlic (your choice, I opt for the head), minced

2 heads of broccoli, cut into 1" pieces

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock, plus more if needed.

Salt & black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 pound short cut pasta (I've also made this with fettucini or linguini), cooked according to package directions until just al dente

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a good among of salt & cook pasta until al dente.

In a large deep saucepan, add broccoli & veggie stock over medium-high heat

Season with salt & pepper (taste your stock first to test the salt level. Cover & cook for about 10 minutes or until the broccoli is fork tender. I like my broccoli a bit softer this sacrifices the bright green color but you'll thank me later.

Reduce heat.

Add the garlic & red pepper flakes. If you find that all of the liquid has evaporated add some more stock or if you don't have any left add some salty starchy pasta water about 1/2 cup at a time. The broccoli, garlic & red pepper will now be steaming together & become fragrant (mmmmmm yum). Cook for another 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.

When pasta is cooked add it to the deep saucepan where the broccoli is cooking. Stir all components together. Add about 1 cup of reserved pasta water into the mixture.

Cook everything together for another 3 minutes.

Turn the head off. Drizzle the olive oil over the top of the mixture. Toss so all of the pasta and broccoli is coated.

Stir in the cheese so that it melts into the mixture. Season with salt & pepper if needed but taste it first, the cheese offers a good amount of salt.

Serve hot & be sure to where your soft pants because you'll definitely want seconds. Serve with extra cheese if you so wish - I'm not judging :)